WCVC-DT
WCVC-DT, virtual and UHF digital channel 23, is a Univision owned-and-operated television station located in Vice City, VS United States. It serves as the flagship television station of owner Univision Communications, and is part of a duopoly with UniMás owned-and-operated station WXFT (channel 69). It was also the home of Sabado Gigante. History Channel 23 first signed on the air on November 14, 1967 as WZQZ, operating as an independent station. Programs produced by the station included Bozo the Clown, an afternoon show that was broadcast live on weekdays in English and pre-recorded in Spanish on Saturday mornings, featuring Bozo, and his Latin helper "Petunia". It also included very popular Spanish language programs during this time, such as Solo Para Bailadores, a Spanish equivalent to Soul Train that featured live performances by local bands and was hosted by Omar Marchant; many local residents came to the show to dance and appear on television. WAJA originally operated from studio facilities located on Northwest 2nd Avenue (US 441) and NW 199th Street in Vice Gardens. In January 1971, the station was sold to Spanish International Communications Corporation (forerunner of today's Univision Communications). The station's call letters were subsequently changed to WCVC as the station concentrated more on Spanish-language programming, particularly those sourced from the Spanish International Network (SIN, later to be renamed Univision in 1986). By the mid-1970s, the station had phased out its remaining English-language programming. In December 2009, WCVC, along with most other Univision-owned stations, upgraded their digital signals to 1080i high definition, in preparation for Univision and sister network TeleFutura's planned launch of HD programming in January 2010. Sabado Gigante The studios of WCVC is famous for taping Sabado Gigante, a Spanish-language television program that is broadcast by Univision in the United States. It is Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running television variety series in history. Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment, hosted by Mario Kreutzberger under the stage name of Don Francisco. The show originally began in 1962 in Chile under the name "El Show Dominical", a year later renamed as "Sabados Gigantes". The US version began taping in Vice City in 1986, also hosted by Don Francisco. Examples of regular segments include: El Chacal de la Trompeta (The Trumpet Jackal): The most well known one. 6 contestants attempt to sing in order to win $1,000 without getting eliminated by "El Chacal". A team competition with $5,000 up for grabs. Miss Colita: A beauty pageant with woman in swimsuits or other revealing atire. Miss Chiquitita (Little Miss): A beauty pageant with little girls. El Detector De Mentiras (Lie Detector Test): Whenever someone is accused of infidelity, Don Francisco puts that person to a lie detector test, conducted by Vice City-based polygraphist Joe Harper. While this is a serious segment, there is some humor, whenever Harper mispronounces the words in the questions since he is not fluent in Spanish, only to be criticized (and corrected) by Don Francisco. Póngale Ritmo (Put Some Rhythm into it!): A dance competition La Cuatro: At some point during the show, Don Francisco gets interrupted (and sometimes annoyed) by "La Cuatro" (played by Chilean singer and actress Gloria Benavides). She has a semi-romantic interest in Don Francisco, but would frequently pester him, including the use of bad jokes and bothering the audience. If La Cuatro pokes fun at various celebrities, Don Francisco warns her (numerous times) to not mess with them. Sabado Gigante would also held special single elimination competitions (Similar to the likes of American Idol, The Voice, etc) which gives out huge cash prizes of over $10,000. Whenever an audience member participates in a contest and wins, he or she is qualified at a shot on winning a new car, which has been the de facto grand prize of Sabado Gigante for many years. Sabado Gigante ended it's 53 year long run on September 2015. Images WZQZ.png|WZQZ-TV logo from 1967-1971 WCVC1970s.png|WCVC-TV logo from the 1970s WCVC-TV80s.png|WCVC-TV logo from the 80s WCVC1990.png|WCVC logo from 1990 Screenshot (331).png|Noticias 23 opener graphic from 1990 (Shown is from Univision's Dallas affiliate station which shares the same number as WCVC.) Screenshot (273).png|Early 90s news set for WCVC Noticias 23 Screenshot (111).png|Noticias 23 news open graphic from 1996-1999 Screenshot (271).png|News set of WCVC Noticias 23 circa 1997 Screenshot (114).png|Circa 2000 UnivisionViceCity.jpg|Previous version (1990-2013) Screenshot (112).png|Noticias 23 news open graphic from 2006-2010 (1) Screenshot (113).png|Noticias 23 news open graphic from 2006-2010 (2) Category:Channel 23 Category:Vice City Category:Vice State Category:Univision Network Affiliates Category:Television channels and stations established in 1967 Category:Former independent stations Category:Former Spanish International Network affiliates Category:Univision Communications